Love Among the Walnuts [Turtleback]

Jean Ferris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002

Sandy Huntington-Ackerman's life becomes increasingly complicated when his bungling, moneygrubbing uncles try to shanghai the family fortune by poisoning a birthday cake. Luckily, those conniving uncles prove yet again that they can't do anything right. Instead of bumping off the whole family, they put Sandy's mom and dad and their pet chicken into mysterious comas. Sandy joins forces with his loyal butler and a wise and wacky nurse to save his parents and squelch his uncles' felonious high jinks.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this modern-day farce featuring a cast of offbeat characters and some punchy dialogue, Ferris (Invincible Summer; Looking for Home) shows how peace inside a man-made utopia is disrupted by outside jealousy and greed; but the plot will have more appeal for adults than children. Horatio Alger Huntington-Ackerman (one of the 10 richest men in the world) escapes the "rat race" of the city with wife "Mousey," son Sandy, trusty valet Bentley and Bentley's wife, Flossie, to a blissful existence on a remote country estate. There Horatio's two brothers attempt to murder the whole household with a poisoned birthday cake, in order to inherit his fortune. The cake puts Horatio, Mousey and Flossie in a coma, and Sandy and Bentley (who did not partake in dessert that night) move them to next-door Walnut Manor?not your ordinary convalescent home. Eight other patients (who, coincidentally, also have been mistreated by cruel family members), with the help of Sunny (a nurse whose demeanor is as bright as her name), join forces with Sandy and Bentley to find a cure for their loved ones' malady and punish the responsible parties. The villains do get what they deserve and the good guys end up with love, happiness and increased riches. However, Sandy's accelerated growth from a baby in the nursery to an adult smitten with Sunny (in the space of a chapter) early on in the novel leaves young readers little to identify with. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Horatio Alger Huntington-Ackerman, self-made inventor and multimillionaire, marries bit-part actress Mousey Malone and together they have a child, Alexander (Sandy). Life is so perfect that they withdraw from the world into an eccentric existence at their lavish estate, Eclipse. The young man and his parents become the target of vicious plots by Sandy's bungling uncles who want to take all their money. When the evil brothers's poisonous birthday cake puts his parents, servant, and pet chicken, Attila the hen, into a coma, Sandy and the butler, along with the ever-radiant and optimistic nurse, Sunnie Stone, move the sleepers next door to Walnut Manor, a high-class "looney bin" for supposed crackpots no longer wanted by their families. After Sandy becomes infatuated with Sunnie, he realizes what his previous life lacked. The residents become a family and Sunnie proves that they're not wackos, but rather misunderstood and unappreciated. Love and caring cure all. The butler finds a potion to wake the sleepers, and the uncles are thrown in jail after a bungled arson attempt. Weddings and engagements fill the end of this happily ever after tale. Like a British farce without the off-color humor, this book is intentionally melodramatic, coincidental, improbable, and hilarious. The restrained, tongue-in-cheek tone heightens the humor of this spoof. Lots of silly fun and a warm, feel-good feeling await readers.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606207767
• ISBN-13: 978-0606207768
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great find!, December 8, 1999

By 

"nhoran" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love among the Walnuts (Hardcover)

I bought this on the strength of the short description in my list of recommendations, and am I ever glad I did. I don't know when I've enjoyed such a delightful book. The plot is deceptively simple, and, with the exception of a couple of minor characters who are not well-defined, the dramatis personae are engagingly eccentric but poignant. In the end good triumphs over evil and the main character shows growth making for a satisfying conclusion.

Since I have a teaching background, I was doubly drawn to this book as I continually found things in it that would make it perfect to use in the classroom. It would make a great readaloud and provide lots of fodder for discussion and literary extensions such as connecting it to a study on books of quotations, or as part of a unit on families.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 5, 2004

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love among the Walnuts (Hardcover)

Jean Ferris did a great job on this book. It was funny and hard to put down.If you like this book you'll love her other book Once Upon a Marigold.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars creative writing, March 20, 2002

By 

Dierdre (Delafield, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love among the Walnuts (Hardcover)

i loved this book! i couldn't put it down. it was the most creative book i've ever read! Jean Ferris did a very good job using her imagination when she wrote this book, and i just enjoyed every minute of it. i would highly reccomend it to anyone looking for a fictional adventure book!